Montane water vole

Description

The montane water vole was formerly considered a subspecies of the European water vole. The European water vole, which is widespread in Eurasia and lives amphibiously, is larger and has shaggy fur; the montane water vole is a smaller, burrowing species with softer fur, isolated in certain European mountains. The upper incisors of the mountain vole protrude forward and are adapted to the burrowing lifestyle.

Habitat

The main distribution area of the montane water vole is the highlands. There they make extensive burrows, usually no deeper than one metre, in meadows and pastures, more rarely in forests. They are predominantly herbivorous, feeding on plant cover in summer and on roots, root bulbs and tubers in winter.

The text is a translation of an excerpt from Wikipedia (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gebirgsschermaus). On wikipedia the text is available under a „Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike“ licence. Status: 20 August 2021